


Behind, sharp (infatuation)

by Alecto



Series: tumblr ficlets [26]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Restaurant, M/M, Prompt Fic, Smoking, Unresolved Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-10
Updated: 2020-04-10
Packaged: 2021-03-02 05:42:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,529
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23580109
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alecto/pseuds/Alecto
Summary: Dialogue prompt: "Frost the damn cupcakes."All is fair in love and war when it's Valentine's Day at one of the hottest restaurants in Domino City.
Relationships: Jounouchi Katsuya | Joey Wheeler/Kaiba Seto
Series: tumblr ficlets [26]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/48708
Comments: 10
Kudos: 61





	Behind, sharp (infatuation)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Arxsia](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arxsia/gifts), [tumblr anon](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=tumblr+anon).



The kitchen couldn't look more like a warzone unless you replaced the scorching heat of the stove-tops with incendiary mortar fire. Or at least that was how Joey imagined it. He had never been in the army or gone to war, but he had seen more than his fair share of grease fires and mid-rush screaming breakdowns. Much like on the battlefield, any plan fell to pieces as soon as the first bullet was fired. Or in this case, as soon as the first time someone front of house punched in the wrong order and didn't turn up to correct their mistake until the wrong entree was halfway cooked.

Dear Lord, less than an hour into the shift, and everything had gone to complete shits. There was literally nothing worse than dinner service on a Valentine's Day that fell on a Saturday.

During mad rushes like this one, Joey's only coping mechanism was to let himself get swept away in the kitchen's cacophony. The sounds of the head chef and the hostess devolving into a full-on screaming match over a change in the dessert choices for the night's tasting menu because one of the owner's whim faded into the background. His temples pulsed and twitched to the beat of Cardi B's _Money_ , blaring loud and tinny from someone's phone chucked inside an unused 9 pan. 

If he remembered correctly, sous-chef Yuugi won the privilege of curating the back of house's playlist for this hellish night.

Keep his head down. Focus on the task at hand. Just get through the night somehow.

Maybe in one piece. Maybe in multiple gory pieces. Whatever, he could put them all back together later.

Joey wondered if it was possible to drown himself in the sea of tears brought on by the pounds and pounds of onions he was stuck mincing.

"You! Newbie! Line cook!" Chef's voice cut through the chaos as cleanly as his probably custom-made knife set. 

Joey's vision blurred as he split open another stinkingly fresh and young onion. Holy fuck, who was their supplier?

"Wheeler!"

His name snapped him out of his fugue state. His response was just as automatic, a damn reflex after four years of slaving in any number of kitchens. "Yes, chef?" 

Seto Kaiba, executive chef and co-owner, bore down on him, the watery and wrathful vision of a general under siege. Joey quickly wiped his teary eyes with his sleeve, only resting his knife on the chopping board after the fact. Kaiba's face was a splotchy red. Joey wondered if it was from anger or the kitchen's heat.

"You're creating God knows how many health code violations sobbing over the onions!" Kaiba snapped. "Take your pathetic breakdown to the walk-in. I expect you back here in five minutes."

Joey's hackles rose. "It ain't a breakdown. These onions are really fucking raw! Lay off me!"

Kaiba glared at him, eyes flinty and nostrils flared with rage. God, Joey was a fucking idiot. Barely two weeks in a new kitchen, and he was already backtalking the chef, throwing whatever goodwill he might have earned in that time straight into the crapshoot. He should have just listened; took that minute to clear his head and nose and eyes in the walk-in as ordered and then come back to his station. Kaiba wasn't going to fire him—couldn't afford to with how understaffed they were—but it didn't mean he couldn't make Joey's life hell going forward.

"Useless," Kaiba snarled. As he spun away, his black chef's uniform blurred like Joey was staring into the center of a black hole sucking in all life and hope and all of Joey's prime years. "Taylor, take Wheeler's station! Wheeler, you're helping Yuugi get Pegasus' damn abominations out there! I am going to eviscerate whoever opened for this trainwreck."

Yikes, that spelled bad news for the lunch shift. Kaiba's knife skills were nothing to sneeze at.

Joey stumbled after the head chef, who bellowed "behind" as he bulldozed his way back down the line, swiftly followed by a chorus of "heard." They came to a stop at the other end of the kitchen where Yuugi, standing on his usual upturned milk crate, was plating dishes as fast as he could. 

"Hey, Joey," Yuugi greeted. His tone was as dead as the look in his eyes.

To his left were pans of chocolate cupcakes, bowls of blood-red frosting, and trays of delicate, wispy sugar-spun hearts. Slowly, the previous shouting match between Kaiba and Mai that he had tried to ignore sunk in. These were the last-minute substitutions that Pegasus had insisted on at 3 PM and never communicated to the dinner shift.

"Wait"—Joey reached out and caught Kaiba's sleeve before he could leave to return to his own station as panic welled up in him—"I think you should get someone else on this! I ain't good with finicky stuff like this."

Kaiba looked him dead in the eye and snarled through gritted teeth. "Frost the damn cupcakes, Wheeler." Then he shook off Joey's grip and stormed off again.

"Don't worry, Joey," Yuugi said tiredly. "I'll show you how. You do the frosting, and I'll handle the rest. Just pray to God no one asks us to hide a ring inside one."

 _I love cooking_ , he reminded himself. But the words simply rang hollow at that moment.

-x-x-x-

Compared to the heat of the kitchen, the mid-February chill felt like a shock to his system. But the alley out back where the staff took their smoke breaks was blissfully quiet and almost serene. Joey ignored his chattering teeth, mindlessly scrolling through his phone while ignoring the overwhelming desire to smoke.

Hinges creaked as the back door swung open and shut in the same heartbeat. Joey glanced up from his phone, hoping it was either Yuugi or Tristan on break as well. 

No such luck. Kaiba, tall and menacing in his dark chef's uniform, made a beeline to where Joey had plopped down on a crate. To Joey's surprise, Kaiba dragged another crate over and sat down next to him.

"Are you planning to smoke that?" Kaiba asked, startling Joey out of his stupor. He gestured toward the unlit cigarette dangling limply in Joey's other hand. 

Joey shook his head, still unable to force his tongue into working order.

Without asking, Kaiba snatched the unlit cigarette. Joey nearly dropped his phone when their hands touched. Before he could offer a light, Kaiba fished a shiny, silver lighter with what looked like an engraving of a dragon from his pocket and flicked it on in one smooth motion. Entranced by the way the flames danced across the sharp planes of Kaiba's face, Joey watched the chef slip the cigarette—Joey's cigarette—between his thin lips and lit it. When Kaiba sucked, his cheeks hollowed, and Joey swore he caught sight of what would have been a dimple if the surly chef ever smiled. Then he puffed out a cloud of smoke through puckered lips.

Suddenly, February didn't seem so cold anymore.

Joey forced his gaze back down to his phone. He would not get caught staring, even if Kaiba was prettier to look at than he had any right to be. "Funny, I never knew you smoked. Never seen you out here with the rest of the guys."

Kaiba sat up, crossed one leg over the other, and rested his large hand holding the cigarette against his knee. "I quit last year. Or at least until Pegasus pulls a stunt like tonight's."

Joey nodded, suddenly all too aware of Kaiba's grace, which was much easier to ignore when he was wielding a sharp blade and firing orders at the line. "Yeah, I'm tryin'. My sister keeps bugging me ta."

Kaiba huffed with what Joey swore sounded like amusement. "Your sister does know what you do for a living, doesn't she?"

"That's what I keep tellin' her." Joey risked a small smile at the other man.

For some reason, a frown settled over Kaiba's face. He leaned forward suddenly, bringing his face mere inches away from Joey's. Joey fixed his gaze on Kaiba's hand, now held aloft in the air with the cigarette and its smoke curling around his long fingers. But as soon as Kaiba pulled in for another puff, Joey's gaze couldn't help but follow, lingering on Kaiba's mouth even after the cigarette withdrew.

"How long have you been in my kitchen?"

Joey swallowed, locking eyes with Kaiba before answering softly, "Almost two weeks, chef."

Kaiba's mouth curled upward, not quite a smirk but also not a smile. "Then I'll say this once, and you'd best listen. In there, my word is law. I don't tolerate anyone questioning my orders. I know exactly what you're capable of, even if you aren't aware of it yet. So do as I say. Do I make myself clear, Wheeler?"

"Yes, chef."

"Good boy," Kaiba said smugly, patting one of Joey's cheeks twice.

Joey nearly fell over. His whole face tingled from the touch. And the next time Kaiba wrapped his lips around the stolen cigarette, Joey decided he'd frost as many damn cupcakes as this man wanted. 

**Author's Note:**

> Love to everyone in the food and hospitality industry, whether you're currently working or not at this time. If you are willing and able to help, consider donating to the [Restaurant Workers Community Foundation](https://www.restaurantworkerscf.org/) or [One Fair Wage](https://onefairwage.com/).


End file.
